70 FIGHTING YEARS

RMT helpline 0800 3763706 :: june 2010 :: RMTnews 26 This year marks 70 years since Alex McFadden joined the union. During his long career he became a leading local and national figure, representing the union in negotiations with national government. “My family on my mother’s side were very political. I had an uncle that fought in Spain,” recalls Alex McFadden as he reflects on his formative political experiences during the 1930s. Alex came from a Catholic family but rejected the Church, not least because of its support for the leader of the Spanish fascist Falange, General Franco. With fascism on the rise across Europe and high unemployment in the North East – where Alex grew up – it was not difficult to become politicised. Alex was a member of the Communist Party but left the party in the 1950s. Alex joined the Labour Party, and was active there as well as in the Northern TUC, where he played a leading role for many years. He was to eventually resign his Labour Party membership many years later, disappointed that in government the party presided over public sector cutbacks that hit the working class very hard. JOINING THE UNION Alex joined the union – then the NUR – in May 1940, starting out his career on the rails in Gateshead at the age of 17 as an engine cleaner, later to become a fireman, and then finally a driver. He remembers that his first union position was shed secretary. “It was my responsibility to make sure that the noticeboard was up to date,” he says. As an activist Alex initially did not want to hold key posts locally as he wanted to be free to speak from the floor at meetings. However, the fact that he was a committed and able activist meant that he soon found himself taking on more responsibilities and was elected as secretary of the Gateshead No 1 NUR branch. It is hard to conceive today just how powerful the Gateshead branch was. Gateshead was an important junction for industry, being just a short distance from Newcastle and the coal industry. At its height the branch had around 1,000 members. The impact of the union on local politics was strong. Gateshead council had 15 NUR members elected as councillors, controlling some of the key budgets. “The influence that the union had in the local community was staggering,” remembers Alex’s eldest son Alec, who is a well known trade unionist in his own right. “We had all sorts of people coming and going and lots of local issues would be settled in discussions at our house,” he recalls. BEER AND SANDWICHES AT NO 10 As an accomplished local and regional activist it was only a matter of time before Alex made his name nationally in the union. He served two periods on NUR national executive: 1965- 1967 and 1971-1973. After that he had a full time NUR job in Scotland before returning to the North East as a regional secretary, a position he held until he retired. Alex’s first period in national office was shortly after Harold Wilson’s Labour government came to power in 1964, promising to halt the cuts on the railways that had been planned in the notorious Beeching report. However, the cuts continued and promises of wage rises failed to materialise. In 1966 the union found itself in dispute and as a member of the negotiating committee Alex met Wilson and other government officials at No 10 Downing Street over “Beer and Sandwiches” in an effort to bring about a resolution. Alex remembers fondly that after settling a crucial deal on freight liner terminals in 1967 he was invited by left-wing government minister Barbara Castle to the Ministry of Transport to celebrate, along with others on the negotiating committee. “It wasn’t beer and sandwiches that time, but the 70 FIGHTING YEARS Alex McFadden talks to RMT News about his experiences during 70 years of active trade unionism